Lower Blackjack Payouts To Help Increase Casino Profits

The Deadwood may become the latest casino to offer reduced payouts on players dealt a “blackjack,” if the South Dakota Commission on Gaming passes the proposal.
Following in the footsteps of Las Vegas casinos, at least a quarter of which already offer payouts of 6-to-5 on a “blackjack” instead of the traditional 3-to-2 scale, would mean a $50 bet would then be paid $60 rather than the more familiar $75. This practice is most commonly seen at single-deck tables, although some multiple-deck blackjack tables have also adopted the reduced payout.
In 2011, the Deadwood casino saw its profits fall by around 5% compared to a year earlier, with the statewide smoking ban, as well as a sluggish economy, blamed as a contributing factor. Since then, casinos have  tried various methods to bump their profits back up, including raising their maximum blackjack bet from $100 to $1,000.
This has resulted in a 15% increase in revenue for July compared to the same period in 2011, and the new 6-to-5 payout scale is likely to boost the casino’s profits even further as it will improve its house advantage over the casino customers to eight times, for a single-deck game.
Commenting on the proposal, Las Vegas-based casino consultant Bill Zender, said: “The whole idea is (the casinos) are trying to win some more money, obviously. You are looking at this gorgeous girl, and there is another girl in a g-string swinging from a pole. Six-to-five, you can get away with it there.”
If passed by the South Dakota Commission on Gaming, Deadwood Gaming Association president Tom Nelson said he didn’t expect the 6-to-5 payouts to be adopted by all casinos, although having it as an option would then become a useful tool in a casino’s armory to experiment with its profitability.